Lawyer for Montreal doctor claims sexual assault accuser is unreliable

Article content

This report contains details that some readers may find disturbing.

The defense attorney for a doctor accused of sexually assaulting a young woman described the plaintiff as unreliable in his closing argument in the case on Thursday in Montreal court.

Stephan Probst, 46, and Wendy Devera, 30, are accused of mutual sexual assault.

Article content

The plaintiff testified last week that she was alone and wanted to experiment sexually with another woman when she met Devera through the app Bumble. She also claimed that she was drugged without her knowledge, had difficulty controlling her body and that Probst raped her while she was having oral sex with Devera.

He testified this week that the young woman initially rejected him when he tried to kiss her at a spa in his penthouse, but later became “receptive” to his touches as she had sex with Devera on his bed. He said he believed the woman consented to what happened on the bed because she watched him penetrate her. He also said he viewed her moaning as he touched her as a form of consent.

“We are dealing with someone who is intelligent but not credible or reliable,” defence lawyer Valérie Riendeau told Judge Suzanne Costom of the Quebec court.

Riendeau, who is defending the couple along with lawyer Ana-Maria Mocanu, pointed to differences in some details the plaintiff told police officers after returning to her home, during the preliminary investigation and during her testimony last week.

Article content

Article content

Riendeau said the woman’s drug use was “crucial to the trial,” noting that Joel Lafontaine, a Montreal police officer, wrote in his notebook that the plaintiff was offered “GH” in a drink and accepted it. Lafontaine testified twice during the trial, saying if he wrote it, he must have heard it, but he could not remember if the plaintiff told him or if he heard it from her boyfriend. Lafontaine also said he was sure “GH” was a reference to the drug GHB.

“She said (during the trial) that she did not tell the police that,” Riendeau said. “I believe she said it to justify the relationship with Mr. Probst.”

“I say it is true that she was offered a drink (knowing that drugs were mixed in it) and that she accepted it. She herself said that she does not know much about drugs.”

The plaintiff stated that she did not attempt to have sexual intercourse with a man on August 28, 2020, because she was in a committed relationship at the time.

Probst has worked at the Jewish General Hospital in the past and is currently listed as Chief of Nuclear Medicine on the CIUSSS West Central Montreal website. He is also listed as Assistant Professor on the McGill University website.

Article content

When Probst testified, he said he and Devera offered the woman 30 mg of Ecstasy and she accepted it. He described it as his “standard dose” when having threesomes with Devera in the past.

A toxicologist who analyzed the plaintiff’s blood and urine (the samples were taken a few hours after she was taken to the hospital by the police) informed Costom that she found small amounts of alcohol, ecstasy and an antidepressant in her system.

Towards the end of Riendeau’s arguments, the judge asked her why the plaintiff had called her boyfriend in apparent desperation just minutes after leaving Probst’s penthouse and told him that she was taking an Uber back to their shared apartment.

Prosecutor Delphine Mauger argued that courts in Canada have tried to deal with the “myths and stereotypes” of a woman who claims to have been sexually abused in order to maintain the relationship she is in. She noted that the plaintiff and the man she was in a committed relationship with at the time are now just friends.

“Do you think she would do all this to maintain a relationship she is no longer in?” asked Mauger, adding that the plaintiff had filed a police report, testified in the preliminary and current proceedings, and been cross-examined.

Article content

Mauger also said the evidence showed that the plaintiff made it clear in text messages she sent to Devera before their meeting that she did not want to have sex with a man and was not interested in a threesome.

The prosecutor also questioned Probst’s version of events on his bed, saying it was doubtful that the plaintiff could have seen Probst penetrating her while she was having oral sex with Devera.

“She had no way of knowing because her face was in Ms. Devera’s crotch,” Mauger said. “The real question here is whether (the plaintiff) consented to being penetrated unprotected in her vagina.”

Mauger noted that the plaintiff said she turned Probst away at least four times while she was staying at his penthouse. Probst testified that the woman turned him away when he tried to join in when she and Devera began kissing at his spa. He said the rejections were friendly and did not change the mood at the spa.

“Mr. Probst wanted a threesome with Ms. Devera and nothing (the plaintiff) said could close that door for him,” Mauger argued.

Costom will announce her decision at the end of August.

[email protected]

Article content

Article content